The present invention relates to storage networks, more particularly to event notification methods and systems in a storage network.
Data is the underlying resources on which all computing processes are based. With the recent explosive growth of the Internet and e-business, the demand on data storage systems has increased tremendously. Generally, storage networking encompasses two applications or configurations: network-attached storage (NAS) or storage area network (SAN). A NAS uses IP over Ethernet to transports data in file formats between storage servers and their clients. In NAS, an integrated storage system, such as a disk array or tape device, connects directly to a messaging network through a local area network (LAN) interface, such as Ethernet, using messaging communications protocols like TCP/IP. The storage system functions as a server in a client-server system.
Generally, a SAN is a dedicated high performance network to move data between heterogeneous servers and storage resources. Unlike NAS, a separate dedicated network is provided to avoid any traffic conflicts between client and servers on the traditional messaging network. A SAN permits establishment of direct connections between storage resources and processors or servers. A SAN can be shared between servers or dedicated to a particular server. It can be concentrated in a single locality or extended over geographical distances. SAN interfaces can be various different protocols, such as Fibre Channel (FC), Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON), Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), Serial Storage Architecture (SSA), High Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI), or other protocols as they emerge in the future. For example, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is developing a new protocol or standard iSCSI that would enable block storage over TCP/IP, while some companies are working to offload the iSCSI-TCP/IP protocol stack from the host processor to make iSCSI a dominant standard for SANs.
Currently, Fibre Channel (FC) is the dominant standard or protocol for SANs. FC is the performance leader today at 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps link speeds and offers excellent (very low) latency characteristics due to a fully offloaded protocol stack. Accordingly, Fibre Channel-based SANs are often used in high-performance applications. FC at 2 Gbps is expected to remain unchallenged in the data center for the foreseeable.
In order to properly utilize the high-performance and versatile SANs, they need to be managed efficiently. One important management function in storage networks is the event notification management. Event notification management in a SAN can be challenging since it generally includes different hardware and operating systems from various vendors with different proprietary messaging languages or rules.